Stress and mental health, I thought went hand in hand. So I based my interviews around these themes. What I found out from the interviews was quite surprising.

When asked if they were stressed most responded with a yes or of course. The reason for their stress seemed to revolve around one catalysis. School. From homework, exams and everything in between. Most people said they are not only stressed now but assumed they would be stressed in the future. One said, “If I am not stressed I get worried because it has been such a constant in my life” that quote was very eye-opening to me. When I am stress-free it feels like a weight is lifted off of me, that I am so-called freed from daily life.

I then shifted the conversation away from stress and to mental health, as I thought this would be a good progression. When prompted with questions about mental health people seemed to perk up as if it was more important. Talking about mental health caused them to be more attentive to the conversation. I felt that people were more compassionate with their answers. As if stress did not play that big of a deal in the overall scheme. Many that responded that they were stressed felt strongly that they were in a good place mentally. Except for one outlier who said, “No, everyone is f**** lying to themselves”. Although a very strong and aggressive thought, I felt that it did hold some validity. How could one feel stressed and still feel that they are in a strong place mentally? Maybe some were lying to themselves…   When I asked people why they felt they were in a strong place mentality most of them responded with friends and family. Saying that they felt grounded because of them. I thought this was a fair enough response but was it enough? Do not get me wrong, I do love my friends and family but even with them sometimes I am stressed about life, with it taking over, but maybe this is just me. I doubt it but it is in the realm of possibilities.

This got me thinking about a term I learned in psychology class coined: self-serving bias. That one cannot properly reflect on themselves in negative lights. One can only see the positives and will make excuses when the negative is in play. So was this to blame? Or do these people truly feel like they are good in terms of mental health.

The last question I asked was about pineapple pizza, to see if the people who said they enjoyed it were struggling with mental health. “Italians hate America because of this” echoed throughout the dorm lounge when I asked a certain participant.  Sadly there was no correlation.